Rory Murphy (born 23 April 1955) is a former

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader. Murphy attended the Bishop Bright Grammar School in

Royal Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

before becoming a photographer for the

Pitt Rivers Museum Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed t ...

in 1972. He joined the

Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs The Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) was a British trade union which existed between 1969 and 1988. History The ASTMS was created in 1969 when ASSET (the Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Techni ...

(ASTMS), and from 1979 worked full-time for the union. In 1984, he became ASTMS's National Secretary for Ireland, then in 1987 was appointed as one of the union's assistant general secretaries. The union became part of

Manufacturing, Science and Finance Manufacturing, Science and Finance (or the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union; almost exclusively known as MSF) was a trade union in Britain. Over eighty members of Parliament (primarily members of the Labour Party) were members. Histor ...

the following year, and Murphy took the same job with the new union, but in 1989 left to become the Chief Executive of Finers.Murphy, Rory
, ''

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'' In 1990, Murphy returned to trade unionism as Director of Industrial Relations for the

Royal College of Midwives The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is a British midwives organisation founded in 1881 by Louisa Hubbard and Zepherina Veitch. It has existed under its present name since 1947, and is the United Kingdom's only trade union or professional organis ...

, then in 1995 he was appointed as General Secretary of the NatWest Staff Association (NWSA). This was the first time that the NWSA had appointed an experienced trade unionist, rather than an employee of

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

. Murphy took the NWSA into a merger, in 1999, which formed UNIFI, of which he served as joint general secretary. In this role, he promoted the idea of unions offering a wide range of services to both members and non-members. In 2004, UNIFI merged into Amicus, and Murphy was appointed as one of its assistant general secretaries. Murphy left trade unionism in 2005, initially working for an outsourcing consultancy. At the time, he stated that "unions have effectively won the battle. All the things they were fighting for – equality, lifelong learning, rights for part-timers – are well on their way to becoming a reality. If trade unions had a relevance, people would join them. But the world has moved on and unions have not."Stephen Overall,
From shop floor to boardroom
, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', 17 August 2005 He subsequently worked for a variety of private sector organisations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Rory 1955 births Living people British trade union leaders People from Leamington Spa